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From stabilizer to enhancer:Effective engagement strategies for secondary stakeholders in corporate social responsibility
No full textCorporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives targeting primary stakeholders are recognized for their potential to increase shareholder value (i.e., value enhancers). In contrast, CSR initiatives aimed at secondary stakeholders, such as local communities, are often regarded as value stabilizers—reducing variability in value without significantly boosting it. Drawing on instrumental stakeholder theory, we argue that community development initiatives (CDIs), an important CSR practice directed atsecondary stakeholders, can enhance shareholder value when combined with effective engagement strategies. We posit that firms can strengthen positive shareholder value by engaging in long-term or business-related CDIs. Additionally, we propose that firms with strong social management capabilities can achieve greater increases in shareholder value through CDIs.Our findings suggest that secondary CSR, traditionally seen as a stabilizer, canbe developed into an enhancer through effective stakeholder engagementstrategies, providing clear and actionable guidance for managers to engage insecondary CSR in a financially effective way
Experiencing difficulty in internships as a catalyst for improvement in pre-service teachers’ reflective writing skills
No full textInternships are perceived by pre-service teachers as significant activities in their training and, for some, as a test of endurance, given the difficult realities of the field. To support trainees in improving practical performance, internships often involve writing reflective texts, such as a self-evaluation report. In this study, the authors investigated the links between trainees’ performance and their writing of a report concerning that performance. They analysed 100 reports written by 20 pre-service primary school teachers. They used a mixed-methods approach to examine changes in the text itself and in the quality of their reflexivity over three years of training, for each practical performance-related profile. Their study suggests that practical performance influences the quality of reflective writing in the self-evaluation report. Results revealed that students improve their writing when they experience stronger internship difficulties, which require them to provide justifications, evaluate effects of their practice, and highlight strengths to build on.</p
Spatiotemporal Immune Landscape and Long-term Immune Memory in POLE-Mutant Endometrial Cancer at the Single-Cell Level
No full textPolymerase epsilon–mutant (POLE-mut) endometrial cancers are characterized by a near 100% disease-specific survival rate, even when treated with surgery alone. This survival, combined with the ultramutated genome and high level of neoantigens in these tumors, indicates a substantial degree of immune control in preventing disease spread and recurrence. Although these features are intriguing, the analysis of immune infiltration in POLE-mut endometrial cancers has predominantly been confined to IHC studies. In this study, we used single-cell RNA and T-cell receptor sequencing to characterize the immune landscape of POLE-mut endometrial cancers. Moreover, we analyzed patient blood samples taken 2 to 8 years after curative treatment to assess the formation of long-term immune memory in circulation. We identified specialized tumor-infiltrating myeloid subsets at different stages of maturation, an array of lymphocytes ranging from immature to cytotoxic, and adaptive NK cells, as well as tumor-reactive exhausted and effector T cells, all contributing to a highly inflammatory antitumor response. Our analysis of blood samples taken years after curative treatment uncovered the presence of tumor-reactive T-cell clones that matched the primary tumor. This indicates the formation of systemic long-term memory immune responses in POLE-mut endometrial cancer survivors. Our study highlights the distinctive immunogenicity of POLE-mut endometrial cancer and identifies key features associated with persistent antitumor immunity that may contribute to prolonged, relapse-free survival.</p
Bovine Carotid Artery Grafts versus PTFE Grafts for Hemodialysis Access:A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
No full textBackground: Arteriovenous grafts are considered for hemodialysis access in patients without a suitable vein for the creation of an arteriovenous fistula (AVF). The most commonly used synthetic polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE) graft carries a high risk of infection (6–29%) and limited biocompatibility. The bovine carotid artery graft (BCAG), a biological alternative, may address these limitations. This systemic review and meta-analysis compared the clinical outcomes of BCAG versus PTFE grafts. Methods: MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane Library were searched for eligible studies (PROSPERO, no. 607603). Studies including patients with BCAG access were included, and those studies published before 2000 were excluded. If PTFE outcomes were reported, they were pooled for comparison. The primary outcome was (graft) infection. Secondary outcomes included primary, primary assisted and secondary patency, and postoperative complications. Meta-analyses and subgroup analyses used random-effects models. Results: Eleven studies (one randomized controlled trial (RCT) and 10 cohort studies) involving 1,247 patients met the inclusion criteria. Infection rates were similar between BCAG and PTFE (64 vs. 95 per 1,000 patient years; P = 0.43). At 12 months, BCAG showed significantly higher primary (47% vs. 29%; P = 0.02) and primary assisted patency (66% vs. 34%; P = 0.004). Secondary patency at 12 months was not significantly higher in the BCAG group (78% vs. 57%; P = 0.10). No differences were observed in the incidence of postoperative complications. Conclusion: BCAG demonstrated superior primary and primary assisted patency compared to PTFE grafts in hemodialysis access. Other outcomes also favored BCAG but lacked statistical significance. Large-scale RCTs are warranted to further define the role of BCAG and support evidence-based decisions.</p
The role of CEO integrity in M&A decision-making
No full textResearch Summary: While the influence of CEO characteristics on M&A decisions has long spurred researchers’ interest, little attention has been devoted to the ramifications of CEO integrity—the adherence to generally accepted norms and standards. We investigate how CEO integrity influences different stages of the M&A decision process. Specifically, we argue that while CEO integrity reduces self-serving behavior, it may also become a golden cage that constrains CEOs’ latitude of action. Accordingly, we find that CEO integrity decreases the probability of Type I errors (errors of commission) but increases the probability of Type II errors (errors of omission) in M&A decision-making. We contribute to theory development by putting forward CEO integrity as an important personality construct for upper echelons research to build on and extend further. Managerial Summary: This paper examines how CEO integrity influences M&A decision-making, providing key insights for corporate strategy. Analyzing data from S&P 1500 firms (2006-2021), we find that CEOs with higher integrity are less likely to engage in frequent or large-scale M&As, particularly avoiding cross-border deals due to higher uncertainty and potential risks. High-integrity CEOs also tend to pay lower acquisition premiums and take longer to complete deals, reflecting a cautious and thorough approach. While CEO integrity helps protect firms from costly mistakes it may also lead to missed growth opportunities, indicating a trade-off between stakeholder considerations and strategic risk-taking. Boards may need to tailor governance frameworks to optimize the balance between the benefits and constraints of CEO integrity.</p
Artificial intelligence for source code understanding tasks:A systematic mapping study
No full textContext: Artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, particularly natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML), are increasingly used to support source code understanding, an essential activity in software engineering. Objective: This systematic mapping study investigates how these techniques are applied, guided by four Research Questions (RQs) focusing on the types of tasks, embedding methods & preprocessing techniques used, machine learning models employed, and existing research gaps. Methods: A review of 227 peer-reviewed studies identifies trends and provides a structured mapping addressing each RQ. Results: The findings reveal a dominant shift toward deep learning, especially transformer-based and graph-based models, highlighting underexplored areas such as explainability. Conclusion: This study provides a task-based classification and offers insights and directions for future research in AI-enabled source code understanding, supporting both researchers and practitioners.</p
Patient selection for proton therapy in lung cancer:Nationwide external validation and model update of a prognostic model for 2-year mortality including mean heart dose
No full textPURPOSE: To externally validate a prognostic model for the prediction of 2-year mortality in locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients treated with (chemo)radiotherapy in multiple Dutch centers, to enable selection of patients for proton therapy.MATERIALS AND METHODS: A published prognostic model for 2-year all-cause mortality after (chemo)radiotherapy for irresectable NSCLC, including mean heart dose, gross tumor volume, and smoking, was selected. External validation and model update was performed on cohorts from 5 centers. Model performance was assessed in terms of discrimination and calibration. In case the model performance differed substantially across centers, this was followed by an internal-external cross-validation (IECV) procedure. Ridge regression was used to fit the final set of predictors to the combined dataset and bootstrapping was applied to perform further internal validation.RESULTS: A total of 554/1094 (51 %) patients died within 2 years. Performance of the prognostic model differed substantially across centers. The IECV showed very low levels of heterogeneity in all three performance measures, indicating performance was consistent across centers. The final model, including the mean heart dose and gross tumor volume, showed moderate discrimination (AUC 0.64; 95 %CI 0.61-0.68) and good calibration (calibration-in-the-large 0.0; -0.12-0.12, calibration slope 1.04 [0.78-1.30]).CONCLUSION: This nation-wide external validation study of a prognostic model for 2-year mortality resulted in a model that performs consistently in patient cohorts across the country. The model has been adopted by the national health authority for model-based selection and reimbursement of proton therapy for lung cancer.</p
Microencapsulation in alginate-pectin based capsules of probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum WCFS1:pectin source and degree of blockwise distribution of methyl esters are critical parameters for the efficacy of protection under gastrointestinal conditions
No full textMicroencapsulation, widely used across industries, enhances the delivery of bioactive compounds and probiotics in the gastrointestinal tract. The growing demand for functional foods has highlighted pectin as a promising encapsulation material, due to its favorable physicochemical properties and fermentability by gut microbiota, which supports intestinal health. In this study, we focused on encapsulating the pH sensitive probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum WCFS1 using various alginate-pectin compositions to evaluate their variability and functionality under simulated gastrointestinal conditions. Pectins with different degrees of methyl-esterification (DM) and blockiness distribution (DB) were enzymatically modified, characterized and tested. Results indicated that capsules with a 3:1 alginate to pectin ratio provided optimal stability. According to a three-way ANOVA analysis, the source, the DB, the pH, and the interaction between the resource and DB impact the viability of encapsulated L. plantarum WCFS1. Pectin with a lower DB enhanced the protection of L. plantarum WCFS1 under pH 3, 5, and 7. Under simulated digestive fluid conditions, the source, the DB, and the simulated fluids independently affect the viability of encapsulated L. plantarum WCFS1. Notably, orange pectin with a high DB (98 %) demonstrated the greatest efficacy in maintaining bacterial viability under simulated gastrointestinal conditions. The findings suggest that the pectin source and structural properties significantly influence the viability and survival of encapsulated probiotics under gastrointestinal conditions, which may lead to the tailored design of pectin-based capsules for controlled delivery of bacteria to specific parts of the gastrointestinal tract.</p
Lightweight underwater acoustic time-frequency separation network for efficient marine target recognition
No full textUnderwater acoustic target recognition is a core technology in ocean engineering, essential for marine security, underwater navigation, and resource development, with growing demand driven by expanding marine activities and autonomous platforms. Traditional underwater acoustic target recognition methods process time-frequency spectrograms using standard two-dimensional convolutions, failing to exploit signal physical properties due to coupled time-frequency processing. This paper presents our proposed lightweight Underwater Acoustic Time-Frequency Separation Network UATFSN implementing decoupled modeling through our designed Time-Frequency Separate Convolutions TFSC modules. TFSC splits feature maps into frequency path and time path, employing anisotropic convolution kernels respectively to extract harmonic features in frequency dimension and transient features in time dimension, incorporating adaptive residual normalization for enhanced stability. Experimental results demonstrate UATFSN achieves 98.23 % accuracy on DeepShip dataset, surpassing the strongest baseline, ResNet34, by 2.04 percentage points while requiring only 0.05M parameters, representing 99.77 % reduction compared to ResNet34. On ShipsEar dataset, UATFSN attains 98.75 % accuracy with 99.26 % computational reduction. Robustness evaluation confirms 84.20 % accuracy under 0 dB SNR and 78.17 % accuracy using 5 % training data. Our proposed UATFSN represents the first breakthrough achieving simultaneous accuracy and computational efficiency in underwater acoustic recognition, providing critical technological support for intelligent deployment on resource-constrained marine platforms. Our proposed UATFSN achieves a remarkable balance between accuracy and computational efficiency in underwater acoustic recognition, providing an effective technological solution for intelligent deployment on resource-constrained marine platforms.</p
A timely dementia diagnosis – from recognition to decision-making across care settings
No full textA timely dementia diagnosis: from recognition to decision-making across care settingsMany people are only diagnosed with dementia when the disease has already progressed. Patients and family members do not always seek help, and when they do, healthcare professionals do not always address concerns. In this thesis, Fleur Visser examines why it can take long before dementia is recognized and what healthcare professionals need to diagnose it timely. “Timely” here means appropriate to the situation and aligned with the preferences of the patient and their family.The findings show that a timely diagnosis requires more than medical knowledge. General practitioners (GPs) often find it difficult to raise the possibility of dementia and discuss the choices that follow. Together with patients and family, they need to decide between options such as wait-and-see, conducting tests in primary care, or a memory clinic referral. This conversation becomes even more challenging when a patient does not acknowledge symptoms and declines further testing. Some GPs feel unsure about their ability to diagnose dementia or question the value of a diagnosis. Clear guidance on roles and responsibilities, and collaboration with other professionals, such as practice nurses, can help.In hospitals, memory problems are often missed, with the risk of suboptimal care. Physicians and nurses want to consider memory problems when treating other conditions, but report needing more knowledge and time.Visser concludes that a timely dementia diagnosis begins with open discussion of concerns, close collaboration between professionals, and an approach that recognizes the person behind the patient